The deniers have been concentrating their efforts primarily on the Middle East for some time, seeing a general opportunity to exploit anti-Zionist sentiment in the region. While it's true that they have gained significant ground in the region and that anti-Semitism has grown by leaps and bounds, every now and then a prominent Arab from the region comes along and shoots the deniers down.
The latest to do so is Israel Knesset member Dr. Ahmad Tibi of the United Arab List party. Tibi published an article Wednesday on Al-Arabiya's Web site in which he denounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial and the denial by other Arabs and Muslims.
Dr. Tibi wrote, "The Holocaust was the expression of one of the most despicable crimes against humanity carried out by the Nazi enemy during one of the human history's most shameful eras." He added, "We mustn't deny the fact that the Jews were victims of the Nazis. Denial is an immoral act. We need to understand the other and its distress, and recognize its sacrifice."
Dr. Tibi now joins several prominent Palestinian spokespersons who have unequivocally rejected Holocaust denial, including Ali Abuminah, Hussein Ibish, and Mahmoud Darwish. And what interest would the rest of the Arab world have in denying the Holocaust if the Palestinians themselves refused to?
Yes, he has. I asked Yossi Beilin himself, and he answered me in e-mail.
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